Manchester United have admitted that the club’s controversial crackdown on ticket touting has caused ‘distress’ to fans who feel as though they have been ‘treated harshly’.United took action last month, notifying thousands of supporters – including one as young as six-years-old – that their accounts had been suspended due to suspicious activity and their season tickets could be revoked unless they provided a satisfactory explanation.But the club now accept that they ‘underestimated’ just how many fans shared accounts and passwords, leading to them being investigated.United have come under fire over the purge, with a number of groups including The ’58, Manchester United Supporters’ Trust and The Red Army issuing a joint statement accusing the club of making fans feel as though they are being ‘treated as suspects’ and urging more leniency. Last week’s Fans’ Forum also gave fan representatives an opportunity to confront United directly.By bringing in an external agency using automated monitoring to find any trace of touting, United have been criticised for casting the net too wide and targeting innocent fans.While the club has acknowledged that ‘a satisfactory explanation’ had been given in a ‘substantial number of cases’, it also justified the clampdown by saying it has ‘uncovered significant and organised touting’ – including one instance where 1,088 accounts were accessed off a single device. Man United have admitted ‘distress’ has been caused to fans after their controversial crackdown on ticket touting – pictured is co-owner Sir Jim RatcliffeThe statement read: ‘Thank you to the many supporters, fan representatives and supporter organisations who have shared their views with us over recent weeks.‘Our intention throughout this process is a simple one; to protect fair access to tickets for genuine Manchester United supporters and to tackle organised ticket touting and abuse of the ticketing system.‘We also intend to share the findings and supporting data once the process is concluded, allowing us to present the full picture. However, we also accept the importance of being as transparent as possible during the process, and we would therefore like to provide additional context at this stage.‘We have listened carefully to the feedback we have received, both through formal meetings and through the many conversations, emails and calls that have taken place. We know that this issue has caused significant concern and distress for some supporters.‘There is no doubt at all that this process has uncovered significant and organised touting which will enable us to remove tickets from touts and place them back in the hands of genuine fans. We believe this is something we are all aligned on.‘One example has uncovered 1,088 accounts accessed on a single device. However, we recognise that the way this process was communicated, and the impact it has had on some loyal match-going supporters, has caused genuine upset and distress.‘We also recognise that some supporters who saw their actions as legitimate and have not made any financial gain from tickets may have felt that they were being treated harshly.‘We understand deeply the relationship between a supporter and their season ticket and that removing that bond should be reserved for serious breaches. In this process, we intend to reserve the most severe sanctions for cases where the evidence indicates organised touting, systematic misuse or activity for financial gain.‘Where this is not indicated, season tickets will not be cancelled. Any season ticket which is cancelled will be offered to a supporter on the waiting list, as a season ticket.’